Student Nutrition Programs

East St. Louis School District 189's Child Nutrition Program is based on the federally funded and administered programs from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). At the state level, the Illinois State Board of Education's Nutrition and Wellness Programs Division is the administering agency working with East St. Louis School District 189 to provide nutritional meals for all students without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

All schools in School District 189 serve breakfast and lunch for students in grades Pre-K to 12. East St. Louis School District 189′s meals are provided by Chartwells Food Service. Breakfast and lunch meals are designed to be compliant with all federal, state, and local guidelines. District 189 is a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) participant. As such, we are able to provide healthy breakfasts and lunches each day at no charge for ALL students enrolled in the CEP school.

Parents of students with special dietary needs should contact school administrators or contact Food Services for more assistance.

BREAKFAST AFTER THE BELL

Illinois Public Act 99-0850 requires that public schools in which at least 70 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches must operate a breakfast after the bell program. Breakfast must be made available to children after the instructional day has officially begun.

In District 189, breakfast will continue to be provided to students prior to the start of the school day. To fulfill the Breakfast After the Bell mandate, breakfast will remain available for students in the cafeteria for 30 minutes after the school day begins. Students are encouraged to take advantage of eating breakfast prior to school and then report to class for the beginning of the instructional day.

COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROVISION

We are pleased to inform you that East St. Louis School District 189 will be participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for School Year 2018-2019, an option available to schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.

CEP has been successfully implemented in more than 14,000 schools, reaching more than 6 millions students nationwide. Schools that participate in the CEP are able to provide healthy breakfasts and lunches each day at no charge for ALL students enrolled in that CEP school during the 2018-2019 School Year. No further action is required of parents or students. Please see verification letter, HERE.

FOOD AND BEVERAGES PROVIDED OR SOLD ON SCHOOL PREMISES

By state law and Board of Education policy, beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, all food and beverages sold or provided to students (including celebrations, classroom parties and rewards) on district campuses must meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) school meal and Smart Snacks in School nutritional standards. This law applies to all food and beverages supplied by individuals and organizations. The only exceptions to this requirement are: food or beverages created or used as part of the district’s instructional programs.

Please see the following resources for suggestions to meet the new law:

The East St. Louis School District's local wellness policy committee meets periodically to review the wellness policy and focus on continuous improvement efforts. In School Year 2018-2019, meetings will be held on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 and March 12, 2019 from 10:00am-Noon at the Board of Education building, located at 1005 State Street in East St. Louis. These meetings are open to the public. Parents and other community stakeholders are invited to attend.

The committee welcomes feedback and suggestions from students and stakeholders throughout the year. For questions or comments, please contact the coordinator of the local wellness policy, Vernisia Goldthree, at vernisia.goldthree@estl189.com or 618-646-3047.